Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has entered an amendment to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R.3944) to raise the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) tax stamp fee on all regulated items to $4709.
The move comes after Republicans lowered the tax stamp fee to $0 for suppressors, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and any other weapons (AOWs) during the reconciliation process. During negotiations over the so-called “one big, beautiful bill,” Sen Murphy proposed a $1 tax stamp fee instead of a $0 charge. The likely reason for the pushing of the $1 fee was to try to head off lawsuits. A tax must have a revenue-raising purpose to be constitutional. Since a $0 tax stamp generates no revenue, the government will struggle to defend the tax in court.
Sen. Murphy argues that the original $200 fee, set in 1934, is too little in today’s dollars. He adjusted his proposal for inflation to reflect what $200 would be in today’s funds. He is using the tax fee in a manner similar to how Congress did in the first half of the 20th century.
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